IOMICA Forum

The kit looks impressive, hull and deck weigh 818 grams and the rudder and keel are impressively strong. Looks really good, looking forward to the build, will keep you all informed.

Kit was £450, with radio etc. its on the water for £625..........

Bit of distraction really have built a micro magic, here it is:





It's a pretty standard build with all woodwork intact, savox 256 on rudder and Hitec 325bb on the sails. Radio is spectrum mr2000 rx velcro'd under the deck, operated by 5 AAA cells or a 900mah lipo with bec. All up weight is 848 grams(under the class min of 860 grams!!!

Hull and deck joined with stabilit and an additional silicone seal applied afterwards. I would describe the finish as "functional" but at any distance it looks fine, didnt help spraying the hull in freezing conditions!!!!The MM has just passed its practical test, it can be transported fully rigged in my MX5!!!!!

I am now considering building another with shroudless mast etc!

Now back to the spirit.......

So far I have;
- cut slot for keel and drilled rudder post
- fixed inwales and transom strengthener
- Lined up and cut to size keel box
- Drilled deck for mast
- put 3 bulkheads in place and installed king plank under deck

Fitting the keel box took ages, it has to fit right under the deck as precisely as possible which took a lot of measuring and trial and error!
Next step is to wax the keel and fix the keel box. it seems that just getting the hull level and letting the keel hang does a great job of getting it central!
Then it's make the radio tray and figure out how to work the rudder
1st Picture shows the hull with a cross brace aimed at taking out a twist that is in the hull.....

and this shows the deck so far:

Now I am making progress!

First up is the mast/keel box all nicely glassed in:



And the view forward showing the bulkheads. The king plank is bonded to the deck, enabling the track to be bolted on prior to fixing:



View of the front of the deck, the small piece of epoxyboard under the jib sheet guide is to stop the sheet getting caught



Here is the hull inverted for the rudder to be installed:



And this is a slightly off centre view, I reckon the rudder and keel line up pretty well perfectly.....:



This is the rudder bonded in the liteply circle weighs virtually nothing:



This is the start of the servo mounting plate made from 4mm ply, its currently 37grams which will reduce when I trim it down but it is very strong - probably a good thing!! Ebay is a good source of stainless m3 nuts and bolts at reasonable prices. Servos are an Eurgle 22 for the winch and a savox 352 for the rudder.



The carbon rod is wedged in place at below deck level to keep the hull in line. This will stay in place until the deck is bonded on then it will be removed via the servo holes.

This is the rear of the deck with the running rigging appearing from the through deck fitting and reversing around the pulley block:

Hi Dave
It's looking good. I know it's too late now but a bit of advise. If you find you have a mysterious leak try moving your aft through deck fitting forward. The deck is quite often awash where it is now and water will find a way. My boat was set up just like yours and if the weather was up it would leak. I moved the through deck forward as far as possible and the leak went away.
Don

Thanks Don. I'll go with it now and maybe change it later or make some sort of cover if it proves to be a problem. Have now taken the rudder out again (!) it goes out of alignment when the deck is put on, so i'll align the rudder after the deck is bonded.

How does the backstay fitting point conform with the no outrigger rules?.Recently had this with another brand of boat and it was decided having the attachment point outside the boat extremes was not legal.

16
D.2.3(c)
Do any fittings project outboard of the hull shell or deck?

To be honest if it doesnt comply I wont register it I will just sail it! Having started the build I am realising how outdated and daft some of the IOM rules are, its about time IOMs caught up or the class will dissappear.

To answer your specific question Richard, the transom is angled inwards so a vertical ruler at the bottom of the transom would miss the backstay eye, so yes it does comply.

Will take a picture later to satisfy myself on this, the rudder is also pretty close.

Yeah Dave,it will be interesting to see what others think.
It seems like(and seemed when we had to rule on it at the measuring stage) such a minor thing,however it was pointed out to us that the rule is the rule.So what do you do?
I guess it comes down to applying the rules equally to every boat.
Most classes of boat,be it full size or scale have some odd,seemingly nonsensical rules,as long as they are there in the open for all to see I don't find a problem with conforming to them.
Seems to me that as outdated and daft IOM rules appear to be, they are working rather well,as evidenced by the growth in this particular class of boat,at least in NZ this is the case.

Here you go Richard, well within the rules, as I would expect it to be, the Spirit appears to be very well thought out!

Well I now have a boat stand! £500 is a bit much I'll admit, but it did come complete with a laser and 3 suits of sails!


Supposed to be ready for the water, but I have already replaced the horible fishing line with Dyneema and set up the rudder linkage properly. My Laser came with the new 2.4 ghz radio - great BUT there is far too much travel on the winch and after a couple of hours fiddling I gave up and put my spectrum rx in so I can use the Dx6i with adjustable travel. Quite how a beginner would sort this out with the non adjustable radio I have no idea........heres a detail pic of the new running rigging.:



Has to be said the Laser winch is as slow as a week in prison, but I guess everyone uses the same so it doesnt matter. Certainly I would agree with others who have said this winch is not suitable for an IOM........

The Spirit build continues with packages arriving all the time, yesterday the wood (lite ply) arrived so I can get back to making a decent servo plate and completing the radio install. I have found some rather nice mast fittings and a 2300 Lipo that weighs only 92 grams, all on order just wish the wife would stop moaning about all the packages arriving!!!

More updates soon......maiden voyage of the Micro Magic and Laser on Sunday!

Dave Pickett wrote:Here you go Richard, well within the rules, as I would expect it to be, the Spirit appears to be very well thought out!

Be interested in other opinions on this...anyone....?

16
D.2.3(c)
Do any fittings project outboard of the hull shell or deck?

Is the transom a separate item from the hull shell?,or part of the shell?
Not trying to pick holes in a great kit boat ,just trying to get some clarity on the rule.Have seen one or two other boats set up this way as well.

Richard, you arn't by any chance a Lawyer?

I know that Frank Parsons, who manufactures this kit is watching this thread (and there's a link from his web site) and no doubt Frank will be commenting at some point.

I do know that there a significant number of these boats already competing so measurers have already confirmed that it complies with the rules. This method of fastening the backstay is common to lots of IOMs, as far as I can see as long as it doesnt stick out beyond the one metre - it's legal!!!!

As this fitting is attached to the hull and not the deck, and it is not projecting beyond the hull, it looks quite legal to me.

John

OK back to more serious stuff. I have remade the servo tray in 6mm liteply, and it now weighs just 20 grams before I start drilling holes in it! Quite tricky this component as the winch drum needs to be the correct height and distance from centreline to pick up the return line in the running rigging.

Shown below is my bright (but I suppose obvious!) way of marking out where the servo access holes need to be:

Time for a quick update although progress has been minimal I'm afraid. Firstly I mentioned some nice rig fittings I had found and here they are, laser cut from Stainless. The double hook is particularly neat, I will be using these both on the mast and the boom(s);



available from here and not too badly priced (but order by phone on the internet it insists on adding £17.60 + VAT postage!)
http://www.ullmansails.co.uk/store/cate ... ategory=61

Next I have been monitoring the weight during the build and so far the hull / deck/ fittings/radio weigh 1190 grams with the battery. A no 1 rig is aroung 300 grams so it is clear that with the 2300 lipos I have ordered at 92 grams it looks like I will be about 80 grams over.

I had my first attempts at sailing last week and I am convinced that my total lack of ability will slow the boat down far more than an excess 80 grams!

However:

- None of the deck is cut away yet, this will yield some savings
- In light winds where weight will be most important) I can save 42 grams by switching to 900 mah lipos, and just changing them more often.

The bottom line is I will be close enough to the minimum weight for the difference to be minimal. The Spirit is rather broader in beam than others I have seen and as a consequence is said to be able to handle higher winds before reducing sail compared to other designs. I doubt any design is perfect in all conditions, but in any event at my (beginner's) stage a I need a sound boat to learn how to sail and I am confident the Spirit will more than accomodate this.

The batteries finally arrived from Hong Kong, so I can move on a bit further!

this is the radio plate lightly tacked in place, everything lines up nicely, so I can now glass it in fully. Am now debating whether I need to brace the keel box more fully to the side of the hull. The radio plate made from 6mm light ply and braced around the battery ended up at 19 grams:

This is the main 2300 mah Lipo at 95 grams;

and the 900 mah version that I can use in light airs if I want ro get the weight down;

The receiver is a marine spectrum which comes in at just 6 grams:

I feel I can now progress rather more quickly, the radio installation has taken a lot of thought and measuring to get everything aligned.

spent the last week end and all of yesterday replacing a part rotten window sill and repainting the frame and varnishing the door. It's raining today (much needed) so a chance for some me time.

Anyway, Radio tray now glassed in:

And holes cut in the deck:

Not the greatest fit around the mainsheet tube, but accuracy is more important here the hole can always be covered by some epoxy board if need be.
I am considering gluing a small beam just behind the servo holes to put back some strength in the deck.
The mainsheet post in place with the usual belt and braces approach:

Now to cut some lightening holes in the front deck which hopefully will enable me to access the deck shroud bolts underneath - the instructions say access via the servo hatches - no chance as far as I can see!!!!

Hi Dave
Do you have any diagonals from the bottom of the mast tube to the chain plate area? On two of my boats a crack formed in the deck right in front of the mast tube from the mast pushing down and the shrouds pulling up.
Don

Thanks Don, it's that kind of strengthening that I am pondering before I get to far and put the deck on!!!!! The instructions show a simple fibreglass tube connecting the areas you suggest, I will use lite ply and maybe glass fibre resin/mat to secure, I dont really trust epoxy in tension!

Looking again, the deck will be bonded to the wood plate around the mast box so I wonder whether the issue you have had will be a problem on this boat?

Any thoughts anyone?

OK final strengthening done, there are brick sh1t houses out there that look flimsy in comparison!!!





Next step is the rudder linkage then glue the deck and hull together........

weight estimate is now 70 grams over with no 1 rig and full size battery or just 30 grams over with the smaller battery. Close enough for me.

might consider a second pair of diagonal struts from the bottom of the keel trunk to the after end of the chainplate block to prevent any twisting should you elect to place your shroud attachment point aft of the existing diagonal strut

Thanks Bruce, wont be adding any more braces in although the shouds eyes are further back. Had a good pull around and that area is already really strong, and will get even stronger with the deck in place.

Bit of modest progress, the dirty great lump of lead is now provisionally attached to the keel. the instructions suggest that 360mm of the keel should project, I am at 357mm, close enough. When the boat is measured I may find I can add some material to the rear sloping edge of the keel that goes into the keel box to get it as close to the 420mm below waterline as possible.

Here is the keel with top and bottom fixings in place:



yes I do need to tidy my garage!!!

and the keel etc on the scales:



2504 grams leaves a little scope to shape the bulb a bit more then fill the rough areas and sand prior to painting.

and this shows the bulb with the threaded attachment through it, I will only bond this in place after I have bonded the hull and deck together and got the rudder in place:



Not much progress likely this week end, new tv and home cinema arriving, and old set up to be moved to spare room, and with a bit of luck I will be sailing the laser on Sunday.

I am still not convinced about using the flexible snake for rudder control, but equally cant see a viable alternative........

I suggest that you plan to coat the lead with epoxy to give a hard, smooth finish for painting. The paint and epoxy should be about 20 to 25 grams, so you want to get the raw fin/lead down to 2475 to 2480 to allow for finishing.

John

Well its been a long time as I have been diverted sailing the laser and getting back into Mardave 1/12th scale cars, but some more progress has now been made.

Here is the final top deck layout with a waterproof switch, not entirely sure about the viability of using a switch but I can easily change to plugging in wires direct if i need to. Not thrilled with the snake to control the rudder but I wont know how well its going to work until I join the hull/deck and put the rudder in:



underneath the deck now looks like:



And this is the final radio layout, with the receiver velcro'd on top of the battery.....



OK time for everyone to hold their breath this week end - I have promised myself I am going to bond the hull/deck together.......watch this space!!!

Good luck Dave
I hate this step, it always takes me two or three days to work up the balls to glue the deck on.
Don

Before you fit the deck I would suggest you do a dry run first, all taped and weighted down as you intend to.
Also use a slow cure glue to give youself plenty of time to get it right.
One other thing, I would put a guard over that switch. If a sheet can find it and switch it off it will.

Hello Dave,
I hope the coming together of hull and deck goes well. One real worry though with your radio installation, you have deviated from our instructions and are not using a screw cap pot for the Rx & bty, I have always found this a really good way of stopping that horrible stuff called water from wreaking havoc with the electrics. I know keeping it all above the bilges is advisable but you need to offer some protection; even a splash or just encroaching dampness is a devil of a problem with circuitry, its one that flying guys don't have to contend with (unless its a Sunderland!).
Best of luck with everything,
Frank
at Nylet

Fair point Frank, but the rx is waterproof and the lipo cells are sealed. This may not be enough, in which case i will have a re think............time will tell. Still not joined the hull, but only just got back from Holiday!